Children and Youth – April 2026

UPDATE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION MINISTRIES – AMY GRELLA

Intergenerational Opportunities

Souper Bowl of Caring – Thank you

The Bower Hill Youth food drive collected 476-pounds of food for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Additionally, a large box of food in glass containers was taken to the Unity Food Pantry. Special thank you to Mt. Lebanon Montessori students for sorting the food for delivery.

Earth Day Fair

April brings warmer weather and a family opportunity to focus on caring for

God's creation. Join us on Saturday, April 18th - 9 a.m. - noon. We will work with Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy in Twin Hills Park to plant native trees, shrubs and perennials. Meet at the Twin Hills Drive entrance. Bring a shovel and gloves if you have them. Click here to RSVP. While open to all, we ask an adult to accompany any children 4th grade and under.

Youth Sunday – Save the Date

Be sure to join us in worship on Sunday, May 10. Bower Hill youth will lead the service. Children and youth will be working on it during Sunday School in the coming weeks.

Bower Hill Spring Plant Sale

Bower Hill Youth Group is selling spring plants from Dean’s Greenhouse to raise funds for our summer mission trips and projects. Orders will be taken mostly on-line; here is the link to order. Paper order forms will be available in the Narthex beginning in early April. The order deadline is April 19, with plant delivery on Tuesday, May 19.

Upcoming Events

Registration is Open for Summer Overnight Camps

Bower Hill will attend all of these as a group.

• June 28 - July 2 Crestfield Elementary Overnight Camp (completed 3rd-5th).

• July 19-24 Crestfield Service Adventure Camp for kids ages 12-17.

Crestfield Service Adventure Camp – July 19-24, 2026

Don’t miss out on the best week of summer at Crestfield. This camp is for completed 6th – 8th graders. Registration is now open – click here to add your name to the list and see who’s in.

Crestfield Elementary Overnight Camp June 28- July 2

Join Bower Hill Youth Group for a week away at Crestfield. Because we are going as a group, each youth will receive $100 off the cost of registration!! Please use this link to indicate your interest and to see who else is going. Click here to see last year’s highlight

video to see what the week will look like.

Bower Hill’s Jr. Day & Day Camp Returns

Save the date, July 27-31, for Bower Hill’s week-long camp, where kids discover that Jesus' love is one-of-a-kind. Weird Animals is a habitat filled with incredible learning experiences kids see, hear, touch and even taste! Some cool upgrades are planned for the best week of summer – including multiple tracks for kids in 4th – 8th grade.

We need your help inviting younger friends. First-year registrants that have completed third grade and under can attend for FREE. Registration will open soon… stay tuned!

Combined Middle school & high school youth groups

Be sure to check out our monthly service and fellowship opportunities for youth in grades 6-12.

Sunday, April 5 – 9:00 a.m. Easter Egg hunt & game fair. Youth 6th and up will help hide eggs and then run games during worship for the younger kids.

Sunday, April 12 - 9:30 a.m. Help guide younger kids in Sunday School to prepare seed packets to use as handouts at our Earth Day booth to advertise Bower Hill's VBS.

Sunday, April 12 - 5:30 p.m. Pizza dinner for Combined Youth Group & Confirmation in Fellowship Hall – Bring a friend! We’ll have pizza, a panel discussion with older youth about their faith perspective looking back on confirmation. RSVP here so food can be

planned.

Saturday, April 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Please RSVP here so I know who to expect. We will work with Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy in Twin Hill Park. We will help to plant native trees, shrubs and perennials. Meet at the Chatham Park Drive entrance.

Bring a shovel and gloves if you have them. Dress for the weather.

Sunday, April 26 - 11 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Bower Hill's Eco Justice team will be sponsoring a booth at the Mt. Lebanon Earth Day fair in Main Park. Parents and youth are encouraged to volunteer together for one-hour time slots. We also need 1-2 adults that morning to help setup - load pop-up tent, table, chairs at church, deliver and setup at the park. Click here for details and to sign up.

Sunday, May 3 – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Youth Group in room 110 – Bring a friend!